‘Black Mirror’ Season 5 Is Coming This Year, and You’ll Be Able To Choose Your Own Ending

Last year we learned Netflix was in the midst of testing out a choose-your-own-adventure format. An interactive audience experience would be pretty incredible for any movie or TV show, but if you had the ability to pick your own ending for anything, one series in particular would be ideal: Black Mirror. With a couple exceptions, Charlie Brooker’s twisted sci-fi series pretty much never ends happily; out of any show, this one is bound to leave you traumatized and pacing your living room in a state of shock and unease (I speak from experience). But now, you’re going to be able to choose your very own ending for a new Black Mirror episode.

A new report from Bloombergreveals the fifth season of Black Mirror is expected to arrive this December, which makes sense considering the last two seasons dropped around then. (Nothing like binging some psychologically-scarring television around the holidays!) But the real news is that in one episode from the new season, viewers will be able to interact with the story and make decisions to determine the ending. We’re all going to use this opportunity to create a happy ending, yes? Don’t be a sadistic psycho, the people of Brookers’ universe suffer enough!

This will be Netflix’s first live-action project with their interactive model, and the company is expected to do at least one more in the future. We can get an idea of how the choose-your-own-adventure model will work though, thanks to the animated kids shows that already have it. Here’s an idea of how it works in Netflix’s Puss in Boots, as described by Bloomberg:

Within the first couple minutes off Puss in Book, the viewer must choose whether the pugilistic feline fights a god or a tree. After watching one version, the viewer can go back and choose the alternate scenario.

TheBlack Mirror interactive storyline is said to be more complex than the ones in the children’s shows. With a show as layered and twisty as Black Mirror, this is sure to be a fascinating experiment. I can’t wait for the Black Mirror episode about a not-so-distant future where we all live vicariously through the characters of a Black Mirror interactive episode à la the Sims and totally lose sight of reality!

No details on the cast, directors, or episodes for Season 5 have been released yet, but fingers crossed we hear something soon.